Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Nonfiction: Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem

The story of Salem's witch hunts is mysterious, compelling, and horrifying. In the late seventeenth century, the Puritan inhabitants of Salem town were caught up in a whirlwind of fear and accusations of witchcraft. The resulting witch hunt took more than 20 lives, and ruined countless others.

Author Rosalyn Schanzer tells the true story of the accusations and trials in Salem and the surrounding towns. She uses many primary sources, and the story is always referenced back to documents and realia from the time period.

This would be a fantastic book for a class study (although the topic is definitely not on the Canadian curriculum). The transparent structure of the book gives kids a very clear idea of how narrative writing is related to research, and the length (144 pages, with woodcuts) is short enough to welcome kids who are new to the narrative nonfiction format. National Geographic is always a forward thinking publisher, and the QR code in the back of the book adds appeal for readers who come with their smartphone in hand.

With details that horrify and captivate at the same time, even reluctant readers would find this book accessible, interesting, and worthy of discussion.

Nonfiction (narrative)
Ages 9-14
Click here to check out the Port Moody Public Library's catalogue!

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